Essay 1: Eisenstein and Dialectical Montage Soviet cinematographer Sergei Eisenstein argues that the basis of cinema is dialectical montage. In his article “A Dialectical Approach to Film Form”, Eisenstein explains dialectics as “a constant evolution from the interaction of two contradictory opposites” (45). These opposites synthesize and form a new thesis, which then may also be contradicted. Eisenstein employs dialectical montage in his films due to its ability to invoke change, an important goal in a revolutionary society. His film Battleship Potemkin is designed to display this theory and create a psychological change within his audience, corresponding to his revolutionist ideals. The popularity of the dialectical approach was fostered by the upheaval in Russia during the early 20th Century. As communism rose in popularity, Eisenstein believed a Marxist dialectical approach in regards to montage was the foundation of cinema, stating, “Cinematography is, first, and foremost, montage”. He expressed this idea in his films, such as in Battleship Potemkin. On a larger social scale, Eisenstein wished to use his …show more content…
However, it is most prominent within the famous “Odessa Steps” sequence. Throughout this sequence, contrasting images are shown rapidly. Images of faces of the public standing on the steps, the arrival of the soldiers and the beginning of the violence, and people escaping down the steps help support Eisenstein’s theory of how dialectical montage should be used. In a broad reading of the scene, this sequence directly supports his confidence in the idea of revolution. By showing the audience a forceful and overbearing military slaughtering innocent civilians, Eisenstein clearly shows the audience who he believes is in the wrong. By showing a realistic scene of brutal violence, it is obvious that Eisenstein wishes for the audience to identify with the civilians and become
In the film Red Dawn of 1984, it depicts both a work of art and propaganda for various of reasons. To start off, propaganda is used to imply a negative impact on both Russia and Russian troops. The way they are portrayed in the film, illustrates them as savages and corrupted people who are ruthless. In the film, the United States is portrayed as the victim because of the the strong brave soldiers, who are trying to survive and would fight any obstacle in their way. In fact, this film of Red Dawn can also be considered a work of art, because this film uniquely symbolizes the acceptance of thinking like a child. For example, in many scenes in the movie seeing the world from a children’s point of view was a way to help the soldiers forget about their present situation. In this case, the war battles between Russian troops. Most importantly, what I consider a work of art in this film, would be that a group of teenagers get together as a team to defend their country from Soviet invaders. In this essay I will explain different examples that prove that the film of 1984 Red Dawn can be considered both a work of art and a of propaganda.
This analysis will explore these cinematic techniques employed by Pontecorvo within a short sequence and examine their effects on our understanding of the issues and themes raised within the film.
The Bolshevik Revolution was a defining turning point in Russian history. This overall revolution consisted of two individual revolutions in 1917 which resulted in the overthrow of the Tsarist government and the formation of a socialist society led by Vladimir Lenin’s radical Bolsheviks. For a moment with such enormous weight like the Bolshevik Revolution, there will be various interpretations on the true results of that moment and the meaning and value of these results. The film Man with a Movie Camera deals with the results of the Bolshevik Revolution and the early Soviet Society it birthed as it utilizes footage of one day in this early Soviet Union, thus making it worthy of examination. In the film Man With a Movie Camera, Vertov impressively
The postmodern cinema emerged in the 80s and 90s as a powerfully creative force in Hollywood film-making, helping to form the historic convergence of technology, media culture and consumerism. Departing from the modernist cultural tradition grounded in the faith in historical progress, the norms of industrial society and the Enlightenment, the postmodern film is defined by its disjointed narratives, images of chaos, random violence, a dark view of the human state, death of the hero and the emphasis on technique over content. The postmodernist film accomplishes that by acquiring forms and styles from the traditional methods and mixing them together or decorating them. Thus, the postmodern film challenges the “modern” and the modernist cinema along with its inclinations. It also attempts to transform the mainstream conventions of characterization, narrative and suppresses the audience suspension of disbelief. The postmodern cinema often rejects modernist conventions by manipulating and maneuvering with conventions such as space, time and story-telling. Furthermore, it rejects the traditional “grand-narratives” and totalizing forms such as war, history, love and utopian visions of reality. Instead, it is heavily aimed to create constructed fictions and subjective idealisms.
The Alfred Hitchcock film; Vertigo is a narrative film that is a perfect example of a Hollywood Classical Film. I will be examining the following characteristics of the film Vertigo: 1)individual characters who act as casual agents, the main characters in Vertigo, 2)desire to reach to goals, 3)conflicts, 4)appointments, 5)deadlines, 6)James Stewart’s focus shifts and 7)Kim Novak’s characters drives the action in the film. Most of the film is viewed in the 3rd person, except for the reaction shots (point of view shot) which are seen through the eyes of the main character.(1st person) The film has a strong closure and uses continuity editing(180 degree rule). The stylistic (technical) film form of Vertigo makes the film much more enjoyable. The stylistic film form includes camera movements, editing, sound, mise-en-scene and props.
The 2006 film V for Vendetta, a cinematic remake of the classic graphic novel series by the same name, is the epitome of a Marxist fairy tale. The film is complete with a bourgeoisie government who spreads their ideology, via mass media, to a citizenry composed entirely of proletariats, and a hero who sets out to break said citizenry from the prison of false consciousness. If one examines the setting and environment of the film, and follows the main characters as they fight against, or break free from, false consciousness, evidence of Marxist themes are present throughout the film.
Classic narrative cinema is what Bordwell, Staiger and Thompson (The classic Hollywood Cinema, Columbia University press 1985) 1, calls “an excessively obvious cinema”1 in which cinematic style serves to explain and not to obscure the narrative. In this way it is made up of motivated events that lead the spectator to its inevitable conclusion. It causes the spectator to have an emotional investment in this conclusion coming to pass which in turn makes the predictable the most desirable outcome. The films are structured to create an atmosphere of verisimilitude, which is to give a perception of reality. On closer inspection it they are often far from realistic in a social sense but possibly portray a realism desired by the patriarchal and family value orientated society of the time. I feel that it is often the black and white representation of good and evil that creates such an atmosphere of predic...
While the United States and the rest of the world focused on commercially pushing out films for profit, Russia used film to create an art form. Russian filmmakers took risks and created camera effects that had never been seen before. The Soviet Union influenced many films coming out of Russia during the 20’s. For example Dziga Vertov produced Man With A Movie Camera (1929). This film was wildly adventurous; Vertov made no effort to hide the fact that it was a film. He used editing techniques and music to create the scene, there was no plot to the film or characters. The film showed a day in the life of a Russian citizen, Vertov filmed Man With A Movie Camera over a span of four years. In the film the audience is introduced to “The man with
Filmmaker and theorist, Lev Kuleshov, is known today as the grandfather of Soviet Montage theory. His works include The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of the Bolsheviks (1924), Death Ray (1925), The Great Consoler (1933) and We from the Urals (1943). Kuleshov’s life work has had a profound influence on the filmmakers around him and filmmakers today. One of his greatest triumphs was cofounding the Moskow Film School, the world’s first film school. In a time when filmmaking was still in its infancy, Kuleshov was perhaps the first to theorize about the power of this new story telling medium. These theories and experiments would pave the way for future Russian film giants like Pudovkin and Eisenstein (who briefly studied under him).
In this paper, I want to argue that Fritz Lang's effective use of Cinemascope and Mise-en-scène in Moonfleet, ultimately allowed him to better express his signature stylistic elements, despite the many restrictions he had to work with throughout the production process. These restrictions included but were not limited to: a new stylistic filming process; Cinemascope, and the frayed relationship Fritz Lang was speculated to share with MGM, the production company he worked with for Moonfleet.
However, in stark contrast to The General, other films were being made around the world that did not follow a simple Hollywood structure, but rather were more experimental with what a movie could be. Man With a Movie Camera (1929), a very ahead of its time, utilized a completely different style of filmmaking that resonated strongly with the ideals of the Soviet Union. Thus, Man With a Movie Camera sought out to make the everyday people of the Soviet Union the stars of the film. This idea was completely revolutionary as well, and almost by necessity, introduced a new style of editing to fit the story—or rather the documentation—that director Dziga Vertov was trying to tell.
The film Solaris directed by Andrei Tarkovsky is an important artifact of Russian culture, poetry, and art. The significance of poetry and art is deep rooted and reflective of Russia’s special place in the world. Depth and meaning come from where the uniqueness of Russian culture coincides with the messages Tarkovsky communicates through the film. More so than other films, Solaris deals with the existential questions of the period in a context that has remained relevant to this day. Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris is a philosophical work that -- in the context of Russian raw and unadulterated contradiction -- creates an environment conducive to deep introspection. Solaris should be appreciated as cinematic poetry, not just as a classic Russian film.
As a practical sociologist, Charlie Chaplin film Modern times embodies the ideas of hyper-rationalization of Max Weber and the false consciousness of Karl Marx. His film critiques the structural evolution caused by modern society. Through satire, the film reflects the lived reality of modernity by showing how individual agency succumbs to ruthless pragmatism, and how false consciousness is taught to marginalized individuals.
In this essay I will be analysing the use of cinematography in two films, using Peeping Tom (1960) directed by Michael Powell and Psycho (1960) directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The reason why I choose these two films is because although they are from the same genre, and from the same period, the methods both films use are similar and at the same time completely different.
‘Then came the films’; writes the German cultural theorist Walter Benjamin, evoking the arrival of a powerful new art form at the end of 19th century. By this statement, he tried to explain that films were not just another visual medium, but it has a clear differentiation from all previous mediums of visual culture.